Some of the first congressional oversight hearings about the Every Student Succeeds Act highlighted some of the divisions between lawmakers and the U.S. Department of Education over the best way to implement the new education law, especially when it comes to accountability and interventions in struggling schools.
Acting Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. told House education committee members that the new flexibility in ESSA for states and districts is an appropriate shift in power. But he also made it clear that the Education Department will still have significant responsibilities to ensure that all students, particularly special populations and traditionally disadvantaged students, are well-served by new policies and approaches.
“At times, states and districts haven’t lived up to their responsibility to serve all students well,” King told lawmakers on Feb. 25.
However, committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., pressed King on whether he would adhere to both the letter of the law and the law’s larger intent, which he stressed is, in many cases, to limit the Education Department’s role under ESSA to providing guidance and support for states…
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